Washing Guidelines of Utensils

One of the most important duties and responsibilities of kitchen stewards is to always make sure that anything that will come into contact with the diner’s lips are kept clean and sanitized.  This is very important because a slipup can cause problems not only for the diners themselves but also for the restaurants.

Each restaurant has their own guidelines when it comes to washing utensils.  There are kitchens that make use of dishwashing machines, and this is commonly seen in commercial kitchens where there are a lot of diners and the kitchen stewards have to keep up with the demand.  But then again, there are also restaurants that manually wash their utensils, and this is commonly seen in smaller restaurants that draw lower traffic.

Before you make use of the dishwashing machine, make sure that you have scraped off all the solid particles clinging to the utensils.  You can remove them by giving the utensils a pre-wash.  Once done, check the dishwashing machine and make sure that everything is in order before operating it.  This includes checking the temperature as well as the level of the water, detergent, and rinse aid.  If everything is okay, place the utensils on the conveyor’s feeder portion.

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In manual washing of the utensils, you have to make use of three sinks.  The first sink is where you are going to wash the utensils as it contains water and soap solution.  The second sink is where you are going to rinse the utensils as it contains clean hot water.  The third sink is where you are going to sanitize the washed utensils as it contains water and chlorine, about 100 ppm.

Storing the washed utensils properly is just as important as washing, rinsing, and sanitizing them.  After all, all the hard work will go to waste if you do not store the utensils properly and they get contaminated by dust, bacteria, etc.  For this reason, here are some tips on how you should properly handle and store utensils.

As soon as the utensils have been washed, either by dishwashing machine or manual washing, never touch the portions that will come into contact with the diner’s lips.  Handle the utensils by their handles so as to avoid contaminating them with your bare hands.  Furthermore, it is not recommended to wipe off any excess liquid with cloth, however clean the cloth may be.

Commercial kitchens do have utensils storage equipment where these kitchen items are kept.  These equipments are made from very durable and very reliable materials, and they can keep dust away from the washed utensils.

Of course, as a kitchen steward, it is also your main duty to make sure that the utensils storage equipments are kept clean.  You have to do regular thorough washing and sanitizing of the equipment so as to deter the growth of bacteria and accumulation of dust and grime.  It will not do the restaurant a lot of good if you keep clean utensils in an unclean storage area.